BEIJING, May 14-- A police officer has been cleared of wrongdoing in the shooting and killing of a civilian at a railway station in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, said the local police department on Thursday.

The police officer, Li Lebin, shot Xu Chunhe on May 2 at the Qing'an County railway station in Heilongjiang.

An internal investigation showed that the shooting was done out of duty and Li did not violate protocol, said a statement from the railway police of Harbin, the provincial capital, which conducted the investigation.

Xu, 45, who was traveling with his 81-year-old mother and three children, allegedly initiated the assault on Li and continued the attack despite multiple warnings before the police officer shot him, the statement said.

Xu was confirmed dead after paramedics arrived at the site 25 minutes later.